DanceSyndrome are looking to appoint four new Trustees.

North-west charity & social enterprise with an increasing national profile

Board meetings in Manchester

Volunteer position

TRUSTEE OPPORTUNITIES

THE OPPORTUNITY: This is an exciting time to be joining DanceSyndrome where inclusivity and equality create a vibrant energised connected ‘family’. We aim to maximise our impact on a big scale. We have bold ambitions to become better known nationally, continue to transform lives, to develop our training into a marketable social franchise model, to market performances to audiences who at this time are unaware of the enormous impact that we can have, and to develop support and sponsorship through new partnerships, businesses, and individual donors.

DanceSyndrome, a charity since 2013 has established itself as the leader of inclusive dance in the Northwest and is considered to be one of its kind with its ‘unique selling point’ of dancers with learning disabilities at the forefront of all activities and decisions from workshop delivery to choreography and performance to providing feedback to the board and as trustees themselves.

We are currently looking for four new Trustees to join the DanceSyndrome family alongside an existing team of eight, and to support a brand-new Managing Director joining on 1st September 2021. Trustees will be energised and motivated and believe passionately that every single person in society can contribute and engage when given appropriate support, and that the world is stronger when we are all embraced, included, and welcomed. We are particularly looking for skills and expertise in Education, Law, HR and scaling our charity. (including attracting new Business/Partnership opportunities and raising our profile at a National Level).

The current focus is to develop a new strategy building on the enormous success achieved to date alongside attracting new partnerships, a diverse income generation model, and scaling up reach and impact to include everyone regardless of perceived ability.

ABOUT US: DanceSyndrome is an inclusive award-winning Northwest dance charity led by dancers with learning disabilities.

DanceSyndrome believes that everybody belongs and that people with learning disabilities have skills and assets which can contribute to and inspire an equitable civil society.

DanceSyndrome was created in response to the determination of Jen Blackwell, a dancer with Down’s Syndrome who wanted to share her passion for dance and get the world dancing.

She wanted to engage with other dancers, to lead workshops, to choreograph and deliver performances and inspire others to believe in themselves. Supported by her parents Jen spent 10 lonely years searching for opportunities to train to become the community dance worker she sought to be.

Established in 2009 as a limited company, DanceSyndrome became a charity in 2013. Under the current Managing Director, the charity has experienced an exponential increase in demand both regionally and nationally. Using dance as a vehicle for positive change, our vision is to empower learning-disabled individuals through inclusive dance.

All activity is led by a Dance Leader with learning disabilities supported by a professionally trained Dance Artist. Using a co-production model, DanceSyndrome delivers five weekly community workshops and training for the core company. On demand the dancers regularly engage in performances, training, university seminars, conferences and are developing and piloting a social franchise model.

For further insight into our work, please view the following short films:

DanceSyndrome – Dream, Believe, Achieve DanceSyndrome Present “Orbit” – performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017 Superabled – a documentary about Jen Blackwell, Founder of DanceSyndrome

TRUSTEE ROLE: Location: Northwest with Board meetings in Manchester (September, December, March & June)

Time commitment: Attendance & contribution at four Board meetings per year and any required prep work, and the Annual General Meeting (AGM); potential engagement in strategy work and sub working groups throughout the year and occasional representation of the charity at various events with key stakeholders.

Remuneration: The role of Trustee is a volunteer role and is not accompanied by any financial remuneration, although reasonable expenses for travel may be claimed.

Reporting to the Chair of Trustees.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE: Trustees have overall control of a charity and are responsible for making sure it is doing what it was set up to do. Trustees will sign off on the strategy and support the Managing Director to lead the organisation effectively bringing in their professional skills and expertise to enable this charity to achieve its aims.

MAIN DUTIES & KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Trustees make sure the charity is running well and is doing what it was set up to do. This includes ensuring the charity:

• has the money it needs. • spends its money sensibly, on the activities it was raised for. • follows the law, including preparing reports and accounts to send to the Charity Commission. • does not break the rules in its governing document (its constitution, trust deed or articles)

As a Trustee, you will use your skills and experience to make sure the charity runs efficiently. But trustees are allowed to get advice from external sources like solicitors or other experts such as other directors who will support you.

Making decisions: Charity trustees make decisions about their charity together, working as a team. It is extremely rare for Trustees to become personally liable for the charity losing money. But this could happen if trustees, for example:

• behave irresponsibly or dishonestly, causing the charity to lose money. • do not take appropriate steps to manage serious risks, for example by following safety procedures.

Because DanceSyndrome is a registered charity AND a Company Limited by Guarantee, this means trustees are only liable for £10 if the business had to close because we do not have funding to carry on.

Legal responsibilities of Trustees:Trustees must:

• follow the law and the rules in the charity’s governing document. • act responsibly and only in the interests of the charity.• use reasonable care and skill.• make well-informed decisions, taking advice when you need to.

Policies and Procedures: All Trustees must familiarise themselves with DanceSyndrome’s policies and procedures and ensure that these are followed. Copies of all policies, including easy read versions can be found at www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/policies

PERSON SPECIFICATION:We are currently looking for skills and expertise in Education, Law, HR and scaling our charity. (including attracting new Business/Partnership opportunities and raising our profile at a National Level).

The DanceSyndrome family is filled with passionate and motivated people. We are keen to hear from applicants who identify as Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic, LGBTQIA+ and those with a disability. You do not need specific experience of dancing or working previously with people with learning disabilities, we are looking for people who believe in what we do and want to support DanceSyndrome to grow its impact and to help create a fairer, more inclusive and equitable society for everyone.

Professional criteria: • Expertise and connections to enable the charity to achieve its objectives. • Experience of working in a charity, social enterprise, or business environment, with transferrable skills that will be of benefit the charity.• A flexible approach to working and experience of working positively in an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment. • Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) • Good organisational skills. • Good sense of humour and strong team player. • Able to attend quarterly board meetings in Manchester. • Complete a DBS check.

TO EXPRESS AN INTEREST IN APPLYING:Please contact the incoming Managing Director, Julie Nicholson on julie@dancesyndrome.co.uk

There will be a two-stage formal application process.

info@dancesyndrome.co.uk

www.dancesyndrome.co.uk

Tel: 07597 942494